Chemistry - Crystals

In this MEL Academy lesson your child will:

  • learn the nature of crystals
  • make crystals by his own hands
  • grow a blue gem

Lesson time

11:00am   PST (San Francisco, Seattle, ...)
12:00pm   MST (Phoenix, Denver, ...)
1:00pm   CST (Chicago, Houston, ...)
2:00pm   EST (New York, Toronto, ...)
7:00pm   GMT (London, ...)

Lesson duration: 45-55 minutes.

Prepare in advance

In this lesson, we will conduct "Homemade crystals" DIY experiments. Prepare in advance household materials shown below.

DIY Materials

  eggshells - make sure they're very clean!
  water
  tablespoon of any or each: [salt, sugar, baking soda, Epsom salts, borax, cream of tarter]
  egg box (to hold the eggshells)
  4x teaspoon
  as many different food coloring, strong tea, or dyes of a different color
  2 x glass
  thread

Worksheet

Please, download and print this worksheet in advance. You’ll need to refer to it during the lesson.

MEL Experiment

If you are a subscriber of MEL Chemistry then you can conduct Copper sulfate experiment from the Crystals chemistry set:

Crystals

Tutor

This lesson is presented by Katie Moon:

Katie Moon

Hi I'm Katie! I am a secondary school science teacher and general space nerd. I studied astrophysics at Sheffield University before embarking on a PGCE at Bristol University. That was in 2016. Since then I have taught in the UK and around the world before settling down with my laptop as a full time online tutor in 2018. I am a firm believer that practicals are the best way to learn important concepts in science. So if you want a teacher who simply loves science (all of it, not just space!), who loves experiments and who oozes enthusiasm then you're in the right place!